Jeremiah Eck, FAIA, Partner at Eck | MacNeely Architects
We’ve worked with Jim on a number of residential projects, and I can’t recommend him highly enough. He’s a rare bird these days; he does it all, not a paper contractor but one who even works in the field. I like his straightforward approach to pricing and execution, his patience and, importantly, his attention to detail. Trust is also not easy to find these days, but I trust Jim implicitly. If you choose him, you won’t be disappointed. Please call me directly if you have any questions.
Carol O’Brien, Interior Designer, Wellesley Design Consultants
It was a pleasure to work with you on the recent job we did in Weston. Not only is the quality of your work outstanding, but you are extremely helpful and cooperative to work with—a real team player. Your kindness, patience, professional attitude and willingness to please the client are exemplary.
I look forward to working with you in the future.
Mark Lawton, AIA, Principal at Lawton Design Studio
I worked closely with Jim DePaolo of Denali Construction on an extensive residential remodel in Newton, MA. It involved a high degree of precision craftsmanship and attention to detail. Jim and his team of subcontractors executed a beautiful project and did so in a friendly accommodating manner. I would recommend him for future endeavors.
Anne and Joe Ryan, Client, Private Residence
In 2008 we engaged Jim DePaolo of Denali Construction to build a custom home designed by Patrick Ahearn for us in Weston. Jim did an excellent job. He is very ethical and conscientious. His client-oriented approach made our experience in building a home much easier than it otherwise would have been given the complexities involved. Jim was always attentive to ways to save us money and was very fair about changes and extras, of which there were many we requested. The project, which was complicated by the need to complete it in phases as a result of local planning board requirements, was well done, on time and on budget. It is also important to note that Jim stands behind his work. The few times issues have arisen since construction was completed in 2009 Jim has been on the spot to remedy them. In fact, we engaged Jim this Spring to build out some unfinished areas in the basement and again our experience with Denali Construction has been an excellent one.
Matt Arnold and Tama Leventhal, Client, Private Residence
Denali is the kind of builder you want. We worked out a fair (for both parties) price and schedule up front – it was generally an easy and enjoyable process. Denali hit the schedule and budget right-on. When the inevitable changes or issues came up, Jim (the owner) was attentive, responsive, and always fair —he is very customer-oriented. The main carpenters on his team were all solid, good carpenters, who took pride in their work, and with whom we often enjoyed sharing a cup of coffee! Bottom line: if we were to build another house, our first call would be to Jim. Or, if a family member or a close friend were building a house, we would tell them to call Jim.
Evan Mathison, Associate at Maryann Thompson Architects
Jim DePaolo contacted us yesterday to ask us to write a note to you on his behalf. Jim contacted Maryann directly and also myself since we worked together day to day, a true testament to his value on relationships. He builds strong connections with the architect and staff as well as the client from our experience. We have worked with him on a number of occasions and he has built two very large residential projects for our office, a new construction and an extensive renovation, both complex and challenging projects. Both of them have been published or are in the process and are award winning. We appreciated his connection with the client and the project in both cases. He is not the kind of builder that has 10 projects going on all over New England, but rather one that remains current on daily activities at the site of a few projects. In one case, he rented a house locally for his team as the project was in CT, creating a stronger bond with the client and the project. We would highly recommend Jim to you and continue to have him bid on projects for our office as we value his insight and reasonable pricing. Please contact me if you have any further questions.
Joshua Wachman, Client, Private Residence
Five years ago my wife and I hired Denali construction to build our custom vacation home in New Hampshire. Denali won our confidence over other bidders because Denali's portfolio of homes were knock-outs and his recommendations were solid. Denali has worked with the best architects in Massachusetts. It was a bit unorthodox for us to hire a builder based in Massachusetts to deliver a home in central New Hampshire, but we are so glad we did. Jim DiPaolo and his crew of talented carpenters at Denali delivered our home on time and on budget. I could stop right there, but that would not be sufficient to tell the story of why you should consider Denali for your project.
During the intervening years, minor maintenance issues emerged with our home. Jim was always quick to provide a solution, return a call, recommend a sub contractor or visit the site himself to address the problem. His client loyalty is outstanding. I have also had the opportunity to visit several Denali job sites — and there is no drama. The carpenters and subcontractors get along well and they don’t cut corners. They are real craftsmen and are uniformly friendly. Jim has no tolerance for incompetence or behavior which might impact your neighbors or to conceal a problem. The culture of the Denali team is to solve problems and deliver high quality results and satisfied clients.
Building a bespoke home is a project that invites all sorts of tension and anxiety. Entire television programs play off this drama and the interpersonal, financial and architectural concerns the client, architect and builder bring to a project. Our project was devoid of this tension. Denali is now finishing our basement which was a planned phase two of our home. I am excited to reprise the collaboration. I fully recommend them for your project and would be glad to have Jim connect you with me as a reference.
Chris Crump, Founder at CWC Design
I have had the pleasure of working on two different projects with Denali Construction over the past five years. Each project was an enjoyable process with Jim DePaolo and his team.
The first project was a brand new home in Weston, MA. At the time I was the project manager for an architecture firm in Boston. Throughout the whole project Jim would carefully listen to the client as well as the architect as to what needed to be done and executed our thoughts and design very well. In a highly detailed home, his attention to the most minute issue made the experience that much easier. Jim also came in on budget on a multimillion dollar home which in my experience is hard to come by.
The second project was a major remodel and addition in Wellesley, MA. I personally referred Jim for this project as this was one of my first clients of my new firm and I needed a contractor whom I could trust. Once again, Jim not only listened and delivered to every request from myself and the client; he also came in on budget, which was very tight. Many times he also went above and beyond expectations to get the job done.
In both projects, Jim created a great relationship with the clients and each have highly praised him and his team. I continue to refer Jim to my clients and enjoy working with him each time. He is very level headed person who is easy to talk to and always has the client’s best interest in mind. I highly recommend Jim and Denali Construction for any construction project, particularly in high end residential.
Margaret Shirley Hein, Client, Private Residence
My family and I moved to Wellesley, MA, in the summer of 2009. We bought a house in April 2010, that needed extensive renovation as well as new construction. In June of 2010 we entered into an agreement with Jim DePaolo of Denali Construction to undertake our project. The scope of the project was quite large. We renovated the existing house, including 2 bathrooms, the living room, dining room, 4 bedrooms, and basement. In addition, and we added a two-story addition of approximately 1,500 square feet, which is comprised of a new kitchen/family room, powder room, laundry/mudroom, master bedroom and bathroom, and unfinished basement space. We also added a portico to the front of the house and put on a new roof, as well as modifying the existing heating and air conditioning systems. In order to add to the exterior of the house, we needed to demolish part of the house that had been added 5 years previously. So the scope of this job included new construction as well as renovation of an older (1955) building.
Throughout the 7 months of our project, we found Jim DePaolo to be helpful, responsive, good-natured, and honest in all of his dealings with us. His crew is wonderful and at no time did we feel unsafe in our house or feel like we could not trust them.
They were very hard working and skilled and showed up when they said they would and did a very good job. Jim managed the overall project very well and was responsive to our questions, and was very amenable to changes as they occurred. Our project came in on budget, and Jim worked with us very closely to assure that this was the case.